IPL 2024: SRH to take on bottom-placed GT at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium

Openers Travis Head (left) and Abhishek Sharma celebrate SRH’s win over LSG in Hyderabad last week. Pic/AFP

It is advantage Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as they host bottom-ranked Gujarat Titans (GT) in the first of the last two home matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here. A win on Thursday would assure SRH of a Playoff berth.

The IPL-17 league phase ends this Sunday. Being well led by Pat Cummins, SRH play Punjab Kings in a 3.30 pm match in their last league tie on Sunday. With seven wins and five losses, SRH have 14 points, but the spectacular 10-wicket win in 9.4 overs over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) boosted their net run-rate tremendously. Now, they need to remain calm and clinical in the remaining two matches to sign off their league phase in style.

In top gear

The left-handed opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have been devastating, mastering the art of getting into top gear from the first over itself. The other day, a frustrated LSG skipper KL Rahul was lost for words over the carnage.

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GT skipper Shubman Gill

Their sixes are hit mainly in cow corner, between deep midwicket and long-on region. With incredible big-hitting skills, Abhishek has already struck 35 sixes, the highest this season, while Head has 31 sixes to his name. At the same time, the Aussie has walloped 61 fours. Abhishek, who has grown in stature, and Head, who has instilled fear in the bowlers, have strike-rates of over 200.

Head, who predicted a bright future for his Punjab partner, said they complement each other. Clearly, when the openers are in a mood, the opposition bowlers don't have any answer.

SRH had good wins at home and then sneaked a couple of away victories. That put them in a good position. Now they give themselves the best chance for a place in the Top 4. After a few days of rest, a fresh and energised SRH would look to continue their eye-catching performances on the field. Apart from Head and Abhishek, others like Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Reddy and Abdul Samad have chipped in usefully with the willow.

Sometimes, SRH's batting shows have overshadowed their bowling performances, particularly by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who choked LSG in the last match. "Bhuvi has been a champion for a long time and rewards have come to him,'' said Simon Helmot, the SRH assistant coach. The fielding has been excellent too, with players like Nitish coming in for praise from the coach.

Nice to be refreshed: Helmot

Helmot said that it was nice to have a big break. They are a refreshed team. "Having a week's rest in the IPL is a bonus. We never had this big break [before]. It is nice to be refreshed."

But they run into in-form GT openers Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan, who hit centuries against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Ahmedabad. Battered and bruised this season, a wounded GT, who play their last league match, have nothing at stake, but could put a spoke in SRH's wheels.

The SRH coach said GT are a tough side, but that they will continue to play with an aggressive mindset. "We have played smart cricket so far. They have excellent bowlers like Rash [Rashid Khan]. But we will make sure we will play our best cricket against the Titans."

GT skipper Gill said it has been up and down this season as a team: "It was a matter of luck in a few matches where we lost a couple of matches. The margin was very thin. But our fielding let us down in key moments.''

GT are ready for the SRH challenge today and will play with the same intensity they played against CSK. "The strategy is to bat first and put more runs. The Hyderabad crowd loves it and it is one of the noisiest stadiums," said Helmot.

164
No of runs put on by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma off just 58 balls for the opening wicket against LSG last week